President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that Pakistan was committed to unearthing the evidence, finding the truth, and bringing those responsible for the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto to justice.He said this to the five-member Scotland Yard team that is probing Benazir’s assassination when the latter gave him a ‘general’ update on the investigation’s progress.
According to a Press Information Department release, the president thanked the UK government for its prompt response to PakistanÂ’s request for assistance. He hoped that the forensic and technological expertise of the Scotland Yard would greatly contribute to the investigation. He assured the Scotland Yard team of cooperation by all local investigating agencies.
The president said the government would not interfere in the investigation, as he also wants to know who was behind the killing, reported Online. He said that the killing of Benazir was a conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan and so foreign help had been required.
British High Commission spokesman Aidan Liddle said the meeting was ‘introductory’ but refused to reveal further details. He did not confirm or reject reports suggesting that the British investigators sought the president’s permission to quiz government functionaries that Benazir had named as her possible killers before her assassination. “I won’t go into the details but can tell you that it was a introductory meeting,” he said.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley and a senior official of the commission, Keith Pearce, accompanied the British sleuths during the meeting. Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said the Scotland Yard team had thanked the government for the assistance and cooperation provided to them in the probe. Sources said the British team had assured the president that the assassination was being thoroughly examined and facts about culpable elements would be revealed once the probe was completed.
End of the month: According to Online, the team told Musharraf that they would try to complete the investigation by the end of this month and present their report to the people of Pakistan.